Rub ‘N’ Reveal - Bellwork/ Starter/Main/ Plenary

This is a great teaching and learning strategy that can be used as a bellwork activity, a starter or plenary or for delivering content in the main part of the lesson.It is ideal for use on an interactive whiteboard as this makes the whole activity come to life, however, it can also be delivered via powerpoint.The idea is very, very simple but also very effective.Before the lesson, the teacher types out a few paragraphs of text on the topic that has been covered. Then, using the pen tool on an IWB, draws over some key words (around 15) so that they can't be seen (I also used the colour red). Then, students simply need to write down on mini-whiteboards what they think the 15 words are. Once the students have completed this, the teacher then asks students what they think each word is, but, to check the students are correct, a student comes up to the board and rubs out the red using the eraser tool on the IWB. Simple, the red has been 'rubbed' and the word revealed.Its such as simple activity to get students up out of their seat and engaging a little bit more in some text.Ive also used it to introduce content. Rather than talking about a topic, I give the students an overview and play run 'N' reveal with them to get them thinking about it in a bit more detail.This activity can also be carried out via powerpoint, covering key words with coloured text boxes and using animation to make them disappear when clicked upon.I have provided a powerpoint rub 'N' reveal activity (for just-in-time) as part of this blog (available here). My treat